Family

[fimbrethil]

My Uncle Joe is in the hospital. He is my father's sister's husband and I can't say we are really close. We talk 3 or 4 times a year, send each other Christmas and birthday cards and he comes to my summer cookouts and occasionally Christmas dinner. He hadn't called me for my birthday which I found odd but I figured at 84, he just forgot. The next

Comments

[coyotegoth]

Ach, I'm sorry, Helen.

[fimbrethil]

Thanks, Fred.

[nickelchief]

Your friends and family and students are so lucky to have you. You are dealing with an overwhelming onslaught of Life with uncommon grace. I hope that you have people looking out for YOU with the same compassion. And you are due for a busload of good karma.

[fimbrethil]

:) As far as the grace part, it's never been a choice, you know? Good karma would be wonderful.

[erin_c_1978]

That is terribly sad. You are an amazing person to be there for him like you are, even more so with everything you've got on your plate.

[fimbrethil]

Two things: He is my uncle and no one else is stepping up. The landlord is only concerned about getting stuck with the mess which is particularly awful because my uncle and aunt nursed the landlord's mother for 3 long cancer filled years until she died. The relatives on his side can't be arsed to come out. His brother is dead, his sister-in-law in 91 but his nephews are capable of stepping up and they aren't. I can't leave him alone. It's just not right.

[erin_c_1978]

Oh, it's not that I think you should leave him alone! But that doesn't mean I don't think you're amazing for stepping up, even so.

[fimbrethil]

I knew what you meant. I'm just boggling at how is side ofthe family isn't stepping up and the distant niece is.

[roadnotes]

Aie. That's a similar situation to the one my cousin Elliott was found in. You are a good person in crisis. Well, a good person all the time, but a really good one in crisis.

[fimbrethil]

Yeah, Howard saw the mess, I was home with Bree the day Joe was taken to the hospital. I think he and I are a good team in crisis. Joe lives in Woodside and wanted to be taken to Booth Memorial, which is in Flushing. Howie got on the phone with the EMS team who picked him up and got him put into the system as family of a retired EMS worker and that got him to the hospital he wanted to go to. You know Howie, he talks the talk AND walks the walk. I was there yesterday and the prognosis is poor but I got there just in time to feed Joe and give him a little bit of a hard time, which made him laugh, so it was good all around. Joe is the kidder of the family so he appreciates the humor, no matter how dark

[merina]

*hug* I'm so sorry. You're a great person to rely on in a crunch...but oh - do you have to do that a lot.

[fimbrethil]

Thanks. I just don't get it sometimes. He has family on his side but no one is doing a thing for him except me. I'm his niece by marriage.